Ximprovement i in power-looms



N PETERS, FHDTO-LITHDGRAPHER, WASHINGTON. D C.

f UNITED STATES PATENT UEEICE.

ERASTUS B. BIGELOIV, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

MPROVEM ENT IN POWER-LOOIVIS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 14,222, dated February 12, 1856.

To @ZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERAsTUs B. BIGELow, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have made certain Improvements in the Tension Let-OE Motion for Delivering Out the Varps in Power-Looms; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

Figure l is a plan; Fig. 2, a left-hand end elevation, and Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 are details.

My improvements relate to the delivery or giving out of the warps in power-looms; and they consist in the mode of arranging and combining certain parts of the apparatus employed; also, in the mode of connecting the tension-roller or its equivalent with the delivery motion to regulate the delivery of the warps; also, in the method of applying the brake or holder to hold the tension-roller (or its equivalent) when required during the operation of weaving, and, also, in the mode of constructing the brake or holding-lever for holding the tension-roller and combining it with a cam, whereby the said brake or holding-lever is made to turn the let-off-motion shaft and hold the tension roller (or its equivalent) at the beat of the lathe, and whereby the said brake or holding-lever is made to hold the said tension-roller during the crossing of the warps and such part of the forming of the shed as may be required to give a proper face to the cloth to be woven, and whereby, also, the apparatus which regulates the delivery of the warps is made to act thereon when the shed is open and the tension-roller is at rest-a condition of the parts the most favorable for their perfect operation.

a a a represent the loom-frame, b the camshaft, and c the yarn-beam.

The warps, as indicated by the red lines, pass from the yarn-beam c through the heddles CZ CZ over the breast-beam e to' the takeup motion in the usual way. I would remark in this connection that my improvements are designed to work in connection with what is known as the positive take-up motion,7 which may be of any of the wellknown forms which take up a given length of cloth for every given number of threads of filling introduced.

f represents the tension-roller, which is carried by the arms g g, extending from the shaft h, as represented in Fig. 1l. The shaft h (when the tensionroller f acts upon the warps) rocks on its bearings in the stands t' and j, which extend upward from the loomframe a a and support certain parts of the let-off apparatus.

Zt' represents an arm, which extends forward from the shaft h and is connected-to the regulating-rod Z by the stud-screw m. A spiral spring, n, for giving tension to the warps, encircles the regulating-rod Z, and, being compressed between the projection o on the inner side of the stand i and the collar p, may be adjusted by the collarp according'to the tension required.

To hold the warps at the beat of the lathe and for other purposes, which will be hereinafter more fully explained, the regulating-rod Z is connected with a brake or holding lever in the following manner:

q represents a stand, which extends forward fromthe loom-frame and has a projection, s, on its inner side forward to receive the regulating-rod Z, as shown in Fig. 7, which is a horizontal section taken on the red line A B.

7^ represents the brake or holdinglever, which is shaped in the form of a T and rocks on the stud t. The upper arm of the brake or holding lever r is suitably fitted to the projection s, so that the two together form asort of vise to grip and hold said regulating-rod Z whenever said brake or holding-lever r is brought into action. The horizontal arm of the brake or holding-lever r is provided with a stud or roller, u, which is acted upon by the cam o on the cam-shaft b. The cam o imparts motion to the brake or holding-lever r for the double duty of gripping the regulating-rod Z to hold the tension-roller, as aforesaid, and of turning the let-off-motion shaft, which will now be described.

w represents the let-off-motion shaft, which is supported at the top by the projection x, extending from the before-mentioned stand t', and at the bottom by the stand y.

,e represents a worm, which engages with the Worm-wheel a on the yarn-beam c in the usual way.

b represents a crown-ratchet, and e a lever which vibrates on the letoff-motion shaft w and carries the pawl CZ', as shown by Fig. 6. The lever c is moved forward to turn the letf off-motion shaft fw by the depending arm of the brake or' holding-lever r, and is drawn back for renewed action by the spiral spring e', applied as shown in Figs. 3 and 6.

The tension-roller is connected with the delivery motion to regulate the delivery of the warps, as follows: The outer end of the lever c is provided with a series of catches or stops, f f', which may be increased or diminished in number according to the range of motion given to the said lever c. The greater the said range of motion and the number of said catches or stops in proportion to the warps given out the more accurate will be their delivery.

g represents a pawl or feeler, the rear end of which vibrates on the stud 7L', while its forward end is formed to engage with the said catches or stops f. The pawl or feeler g has a projection on its inner side, as shown -in Fig. 6, through which the lower end of the regulating-rod Z, above described, passes, said paWl or feeler g being supported by the nuts 'Z' 1l. The regulating action of these parts is as follows: When more warps are being taken up by the formation of the cloth than are being given out, the tension-roller f will be thereby depressed, which, through the medium of the regulating-rod Z, will raise the pawl or feeler g and allow the lever c' an increased range of motion. Then when more warps are being given out than are required the said tension-roller frises and allows the pawl or feeler g', by engaging with some one of the lower catches or stops, f f', to diminish the range of motion of the said lever c', thus adapting the delivery of the warps to the actual requirements in forming the cloth.

In order that the pawl or feeler g may properly engage with the catches or stops f f to regulate the delivery of the warps as aforesaid, the cam u is so formed as to cause the lever c to act to turn the let-off motion y when the shed of the warps is open and the tension-roller consequently at rest. lf the tension-roller f is allowed to pull upon the warps continually, except when held at the beat of the lathe, as heretofore done, the warps in the cloth in common plain fabrics will arrange themselves side by side in a manner to produce what weavers call pairs7 In producing fabrics, therefore, which require a soft face-as cotton sheetings, for examplethe cam fu should be so formed as to hold said tension-roller f not only at the beat of the lathe, but at the crossing of the warps and during a certain part of the crossing and opening of the shed, the said hold beginning when the warps are partly closed, as represented in Fig. 2, and ending when they shall have been reopened to the same point.

.It will be obvious to machinists that the form and proportions of the parts of the apparatus described may be varied without changing their essential character-as, for ex-y ample, instead of the tension-roller being carried by a separate shaft, as above described, a deflected tension-bar may be used. Instead, also, of the brake or holding-lever r being supported by the stand q, as represented, the stand t' may be extended down so as to connect the whole apparatus with one piece of casting. The cam n, instead of being on the cam-shaft and having adouble rise, may be put upon the lathe-shaft and have a single rise, in which case the brake or holding-lever r should be raised up to conform to the change in the position of the cam.

The jaw of the brake or holding-lever?n may be covered with leather or other elastic ma terial to increase the friction upon the regulating-rod, and a spring may be employed to adjust the force of the grip.

Having described my improvements and pointed out some of the modified forms in which I intend to apply them, what I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination of the tensionroller f,

- the regulating-rod Z, and the brake or holdinglever r, when co-operating substantially in the manner and for the purpose specified.

2. Regulating the action of the delivery motion by the combined action of the tenf sion-roller f, (or its equivalent,) the regulating-rod Z, the pawl or feeler g, and the series of catches or stops-ff, substantially as specified.

3. The method of holding the tension-roller, (or its equivalent) whereby the regulatingrod Z (or its equivalent) is gripped, substantially as specified.

4. The mode of constructing the brake or holding-lever r an d combining it with the cam 1J, whereby the said holding-lever r is made to do the double duty of turning the let-off-motion shaft and holding the tension-roller, (or its equivalent,) substantially in the manner and for the several purposes above set forth, and whereby, also, the apparatus which regulates the delivery mot-ion is made to act thereon when the shed is open and the tensionroller at rest, substantially as specified.

ERASTUS B. BIGELOV. VitneSses:

, CHAs. HAsTINGs,

FRANK F. HAsTrNGs. 

